42 U.S.C. § 1759a : US Code - Section 1759A: Special assistance funds

Search 42 U.S.C. § 1759a : US Code - Section 1759A: Special assistance funds

(a) Formula for computation of payments; computation for lunches to
eligible children in schools funding service to ineligible
children from non-Federal sources; special assistance factors;
annual adjustments
(1)(A) Except as provided in section 1759 of this title, in each
fiscal year each State educational agency shall receive special
assistance payments in an amount equal to the sum of the product
obtained by multiplying the number of lunches (consisting of a
combination of foods which meet the minimum nutritional
requirements prescribed by the Secretary pursuant to section
1758(a) of this title) served free to children eligible for such
lunches in schools within that State during such fiscal year by the
special assistance factor for free lunches prescribed by the
Secretary for such fiscal year and the product obtained by
multiplying the number of lunches served at a reduced price to
children eligible for such reduced price lunches in schools within
that State during such fiscal year by the special assistance factor
for reduced price lunches prescribed by the Secretary for such
fiscal year.
(B) Except as provided in subparagraph (C), (D), or (E), in the
case of any school which determines that at least 80 percent of the
children in attendance during a school year (hereinafter in this
sentence referred to as the "first school year") are eligible for
free lunches or reduced price lunches, special assistance payments
shall be paid to the State educational agency with respect to that
school, if that school so requests for the school year following
the first school year, on the basis of the number of free lunches
or reduced price lunches, as the case may be, that are served by
that school during the school year for which the request is made,
to those children who were determined to be so eligible in the
first school year and the number of free lunches and reduced price
lunches served during that year to other children determined for
that year to be eligible for such lunches.
(C)(i) Except as provided in subparagraph (D), in the case of any
school or school district that -
(I) elects to serve all children in the school or school
district free lunches under the school lunch program during any
period of 4 successive school years, or in the case of a school
or school district that serves both lunches and breakfasts,
elects to serve all children in the school or school district
free lunches and free breakfasts under the school lunch program
and the school breakfast program established under section 4 of
the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1773) during any
period of 4 successive school years; and
(II) pays, from sources other than Federal funds, for the costs
of serving the lunches or breakfasts that are in excess of the
value of assistance received under this chapter and the Child
Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1771 et seq.) with respect to
the number of lunches or breakfasts served during the period;
special assistance payments shall be paid to the State educational
agency with respect to the school or school district during the
period on the basis of the number of lunches or breakfasts
determined under clause (ii) or (iii).
(ii) For purposes of making special assistance payments under
clause (i), except as provided in clause (iii), the number of
lunches or breakfasts served by a school or school district to
children who are eligible for free lunches or breakfasts or reduced
price lunches or breakfasts during each school year of the 4-school-
year period shall be considered to be equal to the number of
lunches or breakfasts served by the school or school district to
children eligible for free lunches or breakfasts or reduced price
lunches or breakfasts during the first school year of the period.
(iii) For purposes of computing the amount of the payments, a
school or school district may elect to determine on a more frequent
basis the number of children who are eligible for free or reduced
price lunches or breakfasts who are served lunches or breakfasts
during the 4-school-year period.
(D)(i) In the case of any school or school district that is
receiving special assistance payments under this paragraph for a 4-
school-year period described in subparagraph (C), the State may
grant, at the end of the 4-school-year period, an extension of the
period for an additional 4 school years, if the State determines,
through available socioeconomic data approved by the Secretary,
that the income level of the population of the school or school
district has remained stable.
(ii) A school or school district described in clause (i) may
reapply to the State at the end of the 4-school-year period, and at
the end of each 4-school-year period thereafter for which the
school or school district receives special assistance payments
under this paragraph, for the purpose of continuing to receive the
payments for a subsequent 4-school-year period.
(iii) If the Secretary determines after considering the best
available socioeconomic data that the income level of families of
children enrolled in a school or school district has not remained
stable, the Secretary may require the submission of applications
for free and reduced price lunches, or for free and reduced price
lunches and breakfasts, in the first school year of any 4-school-
year period for which the school or school district receives
special assistance payments under this paragraph, for the purpose
of calculating the special assistance payments.
(iv) For the purpose of updating information and reimbursement
levels, a school or school district described in clause (i) that
carries out a school lunch or school breakfast program may at any
time require submission of applications for free and reduced price
lunches or for free and reduced price lunches and breakfasts.
(E)(i) In the case of any school or school district that -
(I) elects to serve all children in the school or school
district free lunches under the school lunch program during any
period of 4 successive school years, or in the case of a school
or school district that serves both lunches and breakfasts,
elects to serve all children in the school or school district
free lunches and free breakfasts under the school lunch program
and the school breakfast program during any period of 4
successive school years; and
(II) pays, from sources other than Federal funds, for the costs
of serving the lunches or breakfasts that are in excess of the
value of assistance received under this chapter and the Child
Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1771 et seq.) with respect to
the number of lunches or breakfasts served during the period;
total Federal cash reimbursements and total commodity assistance
shall be provided to the State educational agency with respect to
the school or school district at a level that is equal to the total
Federal cash reimbursements and total commodity assistance received
by the school or school district in the last school year for which
the school or school district accepted applications under the
school lunch or school breakfast program, adjusted annually for
inflation in accordance with paragraph (3)(B) and for changes in
enrollment, to carry out the school lunch or school breakfast
program.
(ii) A school or school district described in clause (i) may
reapply to the State at the end of the 4-school-year period
described in clause (i), and at the end of each 4-school-year
period thereafter for which the school or school district receives
reimbursements and assistance under this subparagraph, for the
purpose of continuing to receive the reimbursements and assistance
for a subsequent 4-school-year period. The State may approve an
application under this clause if the State determines, through
available socioeconomic data approved by the Secretary, that the
income level of the population of the school or school district has
remained consistent with the income level of the population of the
school or school district in the last school year for which the
school or school district accepted the applications described in
clause (i).
(2) The special assistance factor prescribed by the Secretary for
free lunches shall be 98.75 cents and the special assistance factor
for reduced price lunches shall be 40 cents less than the special
assistance factor for free lunches.
(3)(A) The Secretary shall prescribe on July 1, 1982, and on each
subsequent July 1, an annual adjustment in the following:
(i) The national average payment rates for lunches (as
established under section 1753 of this title).
(ii) The special assistance factor for lunches (as established
under paragraph (2) of this subsection).
(iii) The national average payment rates for breakfasts (as
established under section 4(b) of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966
[42 U.S.C. 1773 (b)]).
(iv) The national average payment rates for supplements (as
established under section 1766(c) of this title).
(B) Computation of adjustment. -
(i) In general. - The annual adjustment under this paragraph
shall reflect changes in the cost of operating meal programs
under this chapter and the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 [42 U.S.C.
1771 et seq.], as indicated by the change in the series for food
away from home of the Consumer Price Index for all Urban
Consumers, published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the
Department of Labor.
(ii) Basis. - Each annual adjustment shall reflect the changes
in the series for food away from home for the most recent 12-
month period for which such data are available.
(iii) Rounding. -
(I) Through june 30, 1999. - For the period ending June 30,
1999, the adjustments made under this paragraph shall be
computed to the nearest one-fourth cent, except that
adjustments to payment rates for meals and supplements served
to individuals not determined to be eligible for free or
reduced price meals and supplements shall be computed to the
nearest lower cent increment and based on the unrounded amount
for the preceding 12-month period.
(II) July 1, 1999, and thereafter. - On July 1, 1999, and on
each subsequent July 1, the national average payment rates for
meals and supplements shall be adjusted to the nearest lower
cent increment and shall be based on the unrounded amounts for
the preceding 12-month period.
(b) Financing cost of free and reduced price lunches on basis of
need of school for special assistance; maximum per lunch amount
Except as provided in section 10 of the Child Nutrition Act of
1966 [42 U.S.C. 1779], the special assistance payments made to each
State agency during each fiscal year under the provisions of this
section shall be used by such State agency to assist schools of
that State in providing free and reduced price lunches served to
children pursuant to section 1758(b) of this title. The amount of
such special assistance funds that a school shall from time to time
receive, within a maximum per lunch amount established by the
Secretary for all States, shall be based on the need of the school
for such special assistance. Such maximum per lunch amount
established by the Secretary shall not be less than 60 cents.
(c) Payments to States
Special assistance payments to any State under this section shall
be made as provided in the last sentence of section 1756 of this
title.
(d) Report of school to State educational agency, contents; report
of State educational agency to Secretary, contents
(1) The Secretary, when appropriate, may request each school
participating in the school lunch program under this chapter to
report monthly to the State educational agency the average number
of children in the school who received free lunches and the average
number of children who received reduced price lunches during the
immediately preceding month.
(2) On request of the Secretary, the State educational agency of
each State shall report to the Secretary the average number of
children in the State who received free lunches and the average
number of children in the State who received reduced price lunches
during the immediately preceding month.
(e) Eligibility of commodity only schools for special assistance
payments; free and reduced price meals; discrimination and
identification prohibited
Commodity only schools shall also be eligible for special
assistance payments under this section. Such schools shall serve
meals free to children who meet the eligibility requirements for
free meals under section 1758(b) of this title, and shall serve
meals at a reduced price, not exceeding the price specified in
section 1758(b)(9) of this title, to children meeting the
eligibility requirements for reduced price meals under such
section. No physical segregation of, or other discrimination
against, any child eligible for a free or reduced-priced (!1) lunch
shall be made by the school, nor shall there be any overt
identification of any such child by any means.
(f) Information and assistance concerning reimbursement options
(1) In general
From funds made available under paragraph (3), the Secretary
shall provide grants to not more than 10 State agencies in each
of fiscal years 2000 and 2001 to enable the agencies, in
accordance with criteria established by the Secretary, to -
(A) identify separately in a list -
(i) schools that are most likely to benefit from electing
to receive special assistance under subparagraph (C) or (E)
of subsection (a)(1) of this section; and
(ii) schools that may benefit from electing to receive
special assistance under subparagraph (C) or (E) of
subsection (a)(1) of this section;
(B) make the list of schools identified under this subsection
available to each school district within the State and to the
public;
(C) provide technical assistance to schools, or school
districts containing the schools, to enable the schools to
evaluate and receive special assistance under subparagraph (C)
or (E) of subsection (a)(1) of this section;
(D) take any other actions the Secretary determines are
consistent with receiving special assistance under subparagraph
(C) or (E) of subsection (a)(1) of this section and receiving a
grant under this subsection; and
(E) as soon as practicable after receipt of the grant, but
not later than September 30, 2003, take the actions described
in subparagraphs (A) through (D).
(2) Report
(A) In general
The Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Education and
the Workforce of the House of Representatives and the Committee
on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate -
(i) not later than January 1, 2003, an interim report on
the activities of the State agencies receiving grants under
this subsection; and
(ii) not later than January 1, 2004, a final report on the
activities of the State agencies receiving grants under this
subsection.
(B) Contents
In the reports, the Secretary shall specify -
(i) the number of schools identified as likely to benefit
from electing to receive special assistance under
subparagraph (C) or (E) of subsection (a)(1) of this section;
(ii) the number of schools identified under this subsection
that have elected to receive special assistance under
subparagraph (C) or (E) of subsection (a)(1) of this section;
and
(iii) a description of how the funds and technical
assistance made available under this subsection have been
used.
(3) Funding
Out of any moneys in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated,
the Secretary of the Treasury shall provide to the Secretary
$2,250,000 for each of fiscal years 2000 and 2001 to carry out
this subsection. The Secretary shall be entitled to receive the
funds and shall accept the funds, without further appropriation.